At approximately 1:00 AM PDT/4:00 AM EDT on Monday, August 23rd, online bidding for the Profiles in History Lost Auction was shut down.
Initially, as I reported in my review (see: Reviewing the Profiles in History Lost Auction), it was suspected that internet service at the Barker Hangar went down. However, in recent days forums have been buzzing with other rumors and possibilities. One common theory appears to be that the Live Auctioneers software used to run the online bidding has a 12-hour window.
In an effort to fact-check that theory, I reached out to John Tona, the Client Services Manager at Live Auctioneers.
“While auctions typically do not exceed that time period, there is no limit on the duration of the auction,” Tona said when asked about the 12-hour window.
In addition to that statement, Live Auctioneers e-mailed a press release to all collectors who used their technology during the Lost Auction. The e-mail, in part, read as follows:
It has come to our attention that Profiles in History has been communicating that there were issues with LiveAuctioneers technology that prevented them from running the sale properly. This includes (but is not limited to) the inability to continue the internet portion of the sale after a 12-hour period. LiveAuctioneers places no such restriction on the length of time that an auction house can run a sale.
Prior to December 31, 2008, Live Auctioneers had partnered with eBay Live Auctions and had a guideline in place that all online bidding would be terminated at the 12-hour mark, which would explain some collector’s recollection of a Premiere Props online auction being shut down after 12 hours. However, since Live Auctioneers and eBay Live Auctions parted ways, no such guideline exists.
According to the auction manager and clerk at Profiles in History, this “shut down” was done preemptively to avoid any issues -such as losing bids- based on the limitation once present during the Live Auctioneers/eBay Live Auctions partnership.
While that sounds deliciously adequate and Public Relations friendly, it does make you wonder how Profiles in History failed to address that situation prior to the auction. Additionally, it’s not like PiH hasn’t worked with Live Auctioneers before. In fact, their last auction, Hollywood Auction 40 (see: Live Coverage of Profiles in History’s Hollywood Auction 40), also featured Live Auctioneers as their online bidding technology.
It sounds like as much time was put into planning this auction as it was into verifying the props and costumes that were on the block.
Live Auctioneers has asked that any collector who feels he/she was prevented from bidding on an item they coveted, to please contact info@liveauctioneers.com.
Statistical Note: 75% of the items won on day one were through the Live Auctioneers technology. Day two saw that number rise to 81%.
Front page photo credit to Erik Anderson
About Dan Benton
They knew us internet bidders were dominating the auction so I guess that’s why they didn’t care about this flub. lol. They wanted some floor action but those guys couldn’t afford as much, which doesn’t make sense since they actually flew out there (some) and spent money anyway.